The Restival Festival returns with a new look next month at the newly reopened Mount Congreve Gardens in Waterford following its €7 million restoration works.
Restival goers will have an opportunity to enjoy a two-day health and wellbeing event on August 19 and 20 from 7am to 3pm daily at the stunning 70-acre gardens in County Waterford. The festival will offer two days of escapism with guided yoga, qi gong, and Pilates classes, plus guided Shinrin-yoku forest bathing walks along with health and wellness talks and more.
Each day will commence with a variety of yoga and Pilates classes available across the beautiful lawns, with qi gong under the trees along with guided forest bathing walks through the woodlands and into the depths of the 70-acre gardens.
The Mount Congreve Gardens with its magnificent woodland canopy couldn't be a more perfect place to try out some Shinrin-yoku, the medicine of simply being in the forest. Forest bathing was developed in Japan during the 1980s and has become a cornerstone of preventative health care and healing in Japanese medicine and is proven to lower the heart rate and blood pressure, reduce the stress hormone, boost the immune system and improve overall feelings of wellbeing.
The expert teachers selected to participate in ‘Restival' at Mount Congreve Gardens have years of experience in teaching. From yoga gurus to practising GPs to health and wellbeing talks from Ireland’s leading personal trainer, broadcaster, author, and podcast host Karl Henry, as well as TV presenter, and self-described jogger, Mary Kennedy, visitors to the festival can be assured of an opportunity to try or learn something new from some of Ireland’s top practitioners.
An abundance of fresh and local produce will be on offer from Mount Congreve’s Stables Café. In addition, some local food producers will be on site and the tranquil lawns will offer a ‘Restival’ social and picnic area.
Tickets to ‘Restival’ also include access to the magnificent ticket-only gardens and woodland walks. The gardens at Mount Congreve, Waterford, consist of around 70 acres of intensively planted woodland garden, including a four-acre walled garden. The woodland garden has features such as a Chinese pagoda, ponds, a temple and much more. The entire collection of plants is one of the largest in Ireland - quite simply, the gardens are amazing.
Daily and weekend tickets to the adult-only ‘Restival' are now available at €39 per day or €59 per person for a weekend ticket at www.mountcongreve.com (ticket prices do not include accommodation ). Ticket holders who wish to take a green journey to Restival via the Waterford Greenway will receive a free juice on arrival.
